Parker: Amendment 66 won't impact small businesses

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I am a small business owner and I’m writing in response to Ken Gansmann’s letter to the editor, “Amendment 66 math” in the October 25 edition of the Summit Daily News. The tax burden on me from Amendment 66 will be no different than it was when I was working for Hewlett-Packard for 20 years. There are no corporate taxes associated with Amendment 66 and my income as a small business owner is the same as my income as an employee as far as my tax liability is concerned. To imply that small business owners will somehow be unfairly affected by Amendment 66 is simply not true.

Mr. Gansmann claims that a small-business owner making $250,000 per year will have a “tax hit” from Amendment 66 of a little over $9,000 per year more. I have no idea where he comes up with that figure. Someone with a taxable income of $250,000 would pay $2500 more per year under Amendment 66. And don’t forget that you would probably make well over $300,000 per year in order to have a taxable income of $250,000.

Finally, Mr. Gansmann states that $6 million of the money raised by Amendment 66 will go to the CEA and teacher unions. Union dues are voluntary and are paid by the teachers out of their own money.

Colorado schools have experienced drastic cuts over the past few years and they are in desperate need of funding. Amendment 66 will bring much needed money directly to schools and classrooms. I urge you to vote for Amendment 66.